Jokanovic salutes Fulham’s spirit

Slavisa Jokanovic praised Fulham’s ambition and desire after the Whites moved up to second in the Championship by grinding out a slender victory over Reading at Craven Cottage last night.

Stefan Johansen’s simple finish might have come against the run of play after the Royals made the brighter start – but Jokanovic was pleased with the way his side stuck to their task and extended their unbeaten run to twenty games. The Serbian head coach was also delighted that Fulham claimed their fourth consecutive clean sheet.

Jokanovic told his post-match press conference:

Reading arrived here with great energy and a desire to press us. So we didn’t create so many chances in the first 15 minutes. But we did well to be clinical in the first half; in the second half we created many more chances, but we didn’t finish. We needed to be more clinical in the second half and more calm at the end of the game, but this is the Championship and it’s not easy to win games.

I am a positive man. We showed ambition and we weren’t scared. We had many organised attacks and my team showed a great desire to kill the game. I must give credit to my squad. We’re going to get ready for the next step in a similar style.

The Fulham coach’s only disappointment was that his side failed to convert numerous chances to extend their lead, which made for a nervous end to the night.

We had great chances to kill the game with a second goal, but we couldn’t do it. But we did show great defensive concentration. We prevented Reading from creating chances and this is our fourth game in a row with a clean sheet. This is positive news for us.

He wasn’t getting carried away after Cardiff’s second consecutive defeat, insisting that the Bluebirds still hold the advantage in the promotion race by virtue of their game in hand.

Everything is in Cardiff’s hands. They still have one more game to play than we do. They must be under some kind of pressure. We have to be ready for the next step and that’s it. It’s not necessary to look any further and I am only getting the team ready for Brentford. My players and I are only focused on the next game. We cannot think about taking it more than one step at a time.

The supporters were fantastic. They’ve pushed us all season and I expect they’ll create an excellent atmosphere for us this Saturday against Brentford. Our momentum is fantastic. The team’s spirit is great and we all have to focus on doing our jobs.